


Sunkissed (Soudam)

by ySoda (yrxole)



Category: Dangan Ronpa - All Media Types, Super Dangan Ronpa 2
Genre: Alternate Universe - No Killing Game (Dangan Ronpa), Background Relationships, Dangan Ronpa Spoilers, Fluff, Hugs, I Will Go Down With This Ship, I'm Bad At Tagging, Jabberwock Island (Dangan Ronpa), M/M, No Smut, Not Actually Unrequited Love, Not Beta Read, Oneshot, Sick Character, Soda Kazuichi-Centric, Summer, Summer Vacation, Sunburn, Sweet, background Komahina, jabberwock island but it's actually a school trip, soudam - Freeform, this is pretty sweet just saying
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-05-17
Updated: 2020-05-17
Packaged: 2021-03-02 22:55:19
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,862
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24234652
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/yrxole/pseuds/ySoda
Summary: His mismatched eyes found Soda’s fairly easily, but something about them was a little off-putting. They were duller than usual, and overall the man missed his intimidating aura at the moment. He wasn’t speaking, and it seemed as if he hadn’t fully heard the mechanic, so Soda decided to speak up again. ‘You seem really pale, are you alright?’
Relationships: Hinata Hajime & Soda Kazuichi, Hinata Hajime/Komaeda Nagito, Komaeda Nagito & Kuzuryu Fuyuhiko & Soda Kazuichi, Soda Kazuichi/Tanaka Gundham
Comments: 9
Kudos: 244





	Sunkissed (Soudam)

**Author's Note:**

> A/N:
> 
> Another soudam fic because I love them  
> sorry again I haven't reread the thing so there might be more grammar mistakes than usual yada yada.
> 
> warning: swearing, my bad knowledge of anything medical
> 
> -I write soda without the 'u' because I'm used to the game version of him   
> -I am not gonna complain about my way of writing Gundham anymore but you know... it's hard  
> -sorry if it's a little ooc
> 
> Constructive critisism is welcome, but please don't be too harsh on me :)

The sun of a summer in full swing was emitting a strong light and even so an exhausting warmth, the combination of the two lighting up the shores of Jabberwock Island and with that as well its current residents, among which was the young mechanic Kazuichi Soda. The particular pink haired male sat with his friends in the shades that the big leaves of a palm tree made possible for them, watching the ocean from a safe distance being engulfed in high schoolers that came to this trip to enjoy a solid two weeks of fun, relaxation and tanning. It had honestly been a great idea from the school that had enough funding to spend on their students for once instead of some strange project the mechanic had heard whispers about in the hallways of the old Hope’s Peak, yet their subject had seemed to decline. Instead of worrying about grades and exams the students now had a full two weeks to worry about nothing but avoiding getting sunburned and their usual high school drama that Kazuichi would love to be not too much of a part of, although he was kind of doomed to be considering his shallow infatuation with a certain ultimate princess. But not right now, at the warmest point of day, where the sharp toothed ultimate wouldn’t risk to boil in the ocean’s water like most other students seemed not to mind. Right now he was fine with just sitting on the thin blanket that Hajime Hinata had taken care of taking with him, being a friend of most of the ultimates even if he was one of the reserve course, being protected by the improvised shade above them and using the heat as an excuse to eat as many of the ice creams he could get from the market that was on the island. 

Kazuichi was accompanied by Hajime Hinata the reserve course, Nagito Komaeda the ultimate lucky student and Fuyuhiko Kuzuryuu, the ultimate Yakuza. They formed perhaps a strange group of four, but the mechanic didn’t mind, as he did deem these three the most trustworthy of friends even if Komaeda freaked him out most of the time with his strange way of talking about hope and talent. What he saw in Hinata, who was basically talentless, was still a mystery to the mechanic; although he wouldn’t word those internal questions in fear of what might happen to both him and the relationship that the two man had taken a long time to build. Not that it really mattered either. How cheesy it may have sounded, if his friends were happy, Soda could say he was happy for them as well, even in the heat that troubled even a person like him that was used to high temperatures from his hometown. 

The temperatures this summer had been far higher than the students at Hope’s Peak had ever experienced. Back when they still had their usual scheme at the school, following classes and making tests and whatnot, it had started out as a soft season with the occasional warmer day, but now it seemed like since they were on a tropical island anyway, earth decided that it didn’t need restrictions in how warm it could get. With a lot of cold liquids and swimming the pink haired male had managed to get through the sickening heat so far, but not everyone was as fortunate as the mechanic; as he looked to the left where he was sitting, and he eyed the red face of a definitely overheated Fuyuhiko Kuzuryuu who refused not to wear a tie at all moments, he couldn’t help a snicker escaping. Kazuichi himself was clad in a bright tank top and shorts that came to his knees, shoes long forgotten in his cottage as he knew he probably wouldn’t be leaving the beach at any point of day time, and he had even discarded of his signature beanie and instead opted on tying his hair in a bun, the strands that had been unevenly and horribly layered on the top finally almost all long enough to be able to get secured with the tie, although the shorter pieces of pink strands did fall in his face ever so often. Fuyuhiko, the shorter blonde of the friend group, wasn’t really wearing an attire that was picked out cleverly for the weather so to say. Although he did opt for a lighter pair of pants, he refused to be seen in something that wouldn’t show his  _ complete status as a fearful yakuza leader  _ or whatever the guy would say, and that brought limitations. ‘What the fuck are you laughing at, bastard!’, Kuzuryuu snapped the mechanic out of his thoughts, pulling on the tie that was around his neck subconsciously as he glared at Soda, having heard the soft laughter escape the ultimate. 

Kazuichi averted his gaze for a short moment, not wanting to anger his short tempered friend even more; although the yakuza had gotten significantly better with trusting others and making friends, the bursts of irritation that verbally and sometimes physically left the boy were still a problem. Swiftly his eyes found the sight again though, taking in the red face, slightly sunburned and clothes that he obviously didn’t want to be layered with still there, as he held a pink coloured cup filled with water ice in his left hand, some of it dripping on the pants that the ultimate was wearing, and the childish and sweet ice cream looked strange in contrast to the angry guy that nevertheless still had a baby face but a very vulgar way of speaking; as he now looked up more close, he could spot a dot of sun cream that hadn’t been smeared out right, and involuntarily another soft laugh ripped from the mechanic’s throat as he sat back, taking a spoon of his own cold snack. The ‘I think it’s wonderful that Kuzuryuu’s despair of his own stubbornness in the choosing of clothing became a stepping stone for Soda’s hope’, that followed from Nagito didn’t make the pink haired mechanic’s situation any better, cracking him up even more, and the face of the yakuza was now not just red from heat but also from anger. Although Hajime seemed a little embarrassed by his partner, he didn’t say anything towards Nagito and ignored the strange cryptic things leaving his mouth as he read something, completely distancing from the conversation and most certainly not in the mood to safe Kazuichi’s ass from the wrath of Fuyuhiko. ‘Stop laughing!’, the blonde grumbled, and Soda pressed a hand against his lips to stop himself, but the heat wasn’t doing any right on his somewhat fuzzy mind either. ‘I-I’m sorry-’, he hiccupped, holding the cup of ice cream tight in his hand, ‘But you should s-see yourself right now’.

It had probably not been the greatest of wording on his part, and he should’ve really expected the angry push that followed from the yakuza, but he didn’t; in a short shock his hands darted forward to try and stop Kuzuryuu, but he failed, and in this way the water ice he had been holding fell from his hands and spilled over his shirt. ‘Ah, damn it’, the mechanic cringed as he pinched on the now sticky and cold fabric, and although he a bit of remorse was visible in his eyes, Fuyuhiko huffed and sat back. ‘That’s karma for you’, he muttered. Going and washing the liquid out in the ocean wasn’t a great idea considering that the sun was on its brightest position of the day, so the small beach house with bathroom stalls really was the only option if he didn’t want to walk around with sticky clothes from the sugary melted ice. ‘I’m gonna wash this off in the stalls, see ya’, he told his friends, Hajime acknowledging him with a wave of the hand and Nagito smiling his way, although Fuyuhiko kept grumpily staring at his lap. 

Although the sand was burning his feet a little, the walk to the beach house wasn’t as bad as the male expected it to be, although his skin did feel uncomfortable with the gross stain in his shirt. There was a soft breeze for only a moment that Kazuichi was very happy with being there, before it disappeared and all that was left was once again the suffocating warmth. The mechanic groaned softly and rubbed his head, remembering to bring at least his hat next time to shield his head from the sun, as his feet took him further. The beach house wasn’t that far away, and it was a little secluded from the area where the other students were actually swimming or tanning in the sand at the moment, so he felt a certain amount of calmth was over him once the noise of loud high schoolers was almost completely drown out by the sounds that the ocean made when intruding the shores on his right. The beach house itself wasn’t that interesting either; apparently it had first been used as an actual house for a while, but it was rebuild for the tourists that came to the island as just bathroom stalls where one could take a quick shower or do whatever needs you do in a bathroom. It was a wooden creation that only had one floor, and right under the small roof there were openings that served both as a way of naturally gaining light and also fresh air. The door had a lock that Kazuichi knew only to be used when it was night time and going to the beach was prohibited, so now it stood wide open and showed him to the stalls. Luckily the bathroom was well kept, even if it did look a little old the tiles were clean and so were the closed doors of the stalls in there as he immediately made his way to the sink that stood near the wall where he entered. 

Cold water seeped into his shirt, and although he hissed quietly from the intruding feeling, it was also nice to see that it actually worked a bit to clean the stain that Fuyuhiko created on his shirt. Rubbing the fabric and afterwards trying to dry it off the best he could by wringing out the water and using some tissues, he sighed softly and looked at himself in the mirror that hung above the sink with the faint lighting that was also hung in the bathroom to see himself more clearly. His face was a little red, not as red as Fuyuhiko’s had been, and he had tanned quite nicely, although it wouldn’t get a lot tanner since he knew he didn’t have much pigment of himself; still, the sun-kissed skin pleased him knowing that it showed the experiences he’d already had here with the others, hopefully still as another memory once they returned back to school. 

The mechanic heard a strange sound that took him out of his thoughts, and his eyes quickly shot to gaze at the direction he had heard the noise coming from. It had been a soft thump as if someone was in the bathroom stall and had just closed the door, but that would have been impossible since Soda hadn’t seen anyone actually enter the place and they would have to have gone past him to reach the stalls. He glanced around the room, seeing the three stalls were all closed but not locked, and he was pretty sure no one should have been in there. The beach house was kind of separated from the beach, creating multiple red flags in the pink haired male’s mind where he knew that if something was really wrong he was far enough away from the other students that they wouldn’t notice him. Some strange groan came from the stalls again, faint and almost sounding a little pained, but that didn’t stop the imagination from the mechanic running wild and thinking back at many horror movie plots where the poor girl that was the first victim would hear noise coming from a bathroom stall, open it and get killed by whatever monster was in there. He gulped quietly, and looked at the nearest exit, knowing logically that monsters didn’t exist and he was being a coward, but he would rather be a coward than die here at the hands of some toilet freak. 

‘Hello?’, he called out anyway, his voice quivering a little, and it echoed in the so far he knew empty room. His eyes were set on the door of the stall he had last heard sound coming from, as he stepped towards it. He took a deep breath, securing in his mind that the exit was nearby and he could run if he had to. A bit shakingly and hesitant his hand found the doorknob, noticing that indeed the stall wasn’t locked. ‘I-I’m gonna open the door now…’, he said out loud, sounding probably as hesitant as he was feeling, but logically speaking the only thing that could be in here was another student or perhaps there had flown a bird through the small window of the bathroom and he couldn’t get out anymore. He stood still for just a moment and took in what he could hear; it was pretty vague, but he almost felt like he could hear a rapid and pained breathing pattern in there, which for some reason calmed him down a little; it would be less likely that some murderer was waiting there for him if they themselves were at a weaker point. With some new found confidence the male turned the knob and slowly opened the door, taking in the sight that he was met with by opening the stall up. 

‘...Tanaka? ...You okay, dude?’, Kazuichi asked a little confused at the sight of the ultimate breeder. 

Gundham Tanaka was leaning against the right side of the stall, face paler than the mechanic had known it to be, even with the amount of makeup he knew the ultimate smeared on there every day. He looked… terrible, to put it lightly. He still wore his usual attire; the large black coat and a bound arm, making him seem like some cheesy cartoon villain together with the black hair that supported grey streaks and usually was kept up. However, the hairs now framed his face in a more tired way, and although he wore his pink scarf as per usual, it seemed less majestic than usual, which was his whole stance at the moment. Dark pants seemed to be a little over-worn, and the male had a permanent frown on his face as he supported himself to stay up with his shoulder against the blue surface that was the wall. His mismatched eyes found Soda’s fairly easily, but something about them was a little off-putting. They were duller than usual, and overall the man missed his intimidating aura at the moment. He wasn’t speaking, and it seemed as if he hadn’t fully heard the mechanic, so Soda decided to speak up again. ‘You seem really pale, are you alright?’. 

Although the breeder put on a smirk and straightened his back a bit as he tried to stand straight once more, Kaz could see the exhausted way his eyes drooped and that he needed a lot of his energy for what he was doing. ‘It is a rather foolish assumption that I, the g-great Gundham Tanaka, would be able to feel the stupidious mortal sensation of being unwell. I am in perfect shape, as the supreme Overlord of Ice should’, the voice of the taller male roared deeply, although it had lost its passion that the mechanic was used to hearing from Tanaka. After the speech, he collapsed once more against the wall with a small groan, cringing a little as his bandaged hand reached to his head. Kazuichi watched him, arms folded together as he waited in the door opening for the breeder to do something else, a brow raised both in amusement and worry. After a period of time that really wasn’t that long, once again Gundham’s eyes met his and a larger frown pulled on his non-existent brows as he straightened up. ‘What are you still doing here, fiend?! Have I not expressed my state of wellbeing and therefore do not acquire your company any longer?’, he spoke, somewhat strangled. 

‘Yeah well, that’s nice and all, but you ‘n I both know that’s bullshit. I’ll take you back to your cottage, m’kay?’, Kazuichi responded, stepping closer, as the male stepped back with a determined look that fell as soon as his dizziness acted up again, and although reluctant, his hand gripped onto Soda’s shoulder. ‘...I do not acquire your assistance, begone’, Tanaka grumbled, looking away almost as if he was ashamed to be seen this way, and with the ego that the dude undoubtedly had, Kazuichi supposed that this assumption would be correct. ‘Yet you have to lean on me, alright’, the mechanic retorted sarcastically, not at all surprised when the breeder pulled his hand back in both embarrassment and irritation, folding his arms together over his chest as he huffed. ‘I’m only here to help, alright? I want to help, since you’re obviously not doing great, so stop being a little prick and just work with me here’, Kazuichi groaned tiredly, holding out his hands. Gundham blinked at him, and looked over his stance, almost feeling like he was looking through the boy making the mechanic feel a little uncomfortable. It wasn’t Tanaka really; he had grown used to the guy, and how he acted, but it was still strange for someone to stare at him, as even with the bright clothes he usually wore he still wasn’t much of a character for anyone he knew. ‘You do not  _ wish  _ to help me, Soda. I will not accept your assistance if it is only to get on Lady Sonia’s good side, I will not be a tool for you to acquire the affections for your shallow obsession’, Gundham murmured, not looking up at the mechanic, who was only a little shocked at the speech of the breeder. 

Soda knew that most of the students in their class weren’t really comfortable with how he gushed over Sonia for his reasons that weren’t really factually correct. But if there was one student that hated this phenomenon the most, it would be Gundham. He had expressed his displeasure with the way that Kazuichi acted around miss Nevermind multiple times, as well as gotten in arguments with the mechanic about it. Although the pink haired male got where he was coming from and knew that what he was doing wasn’t necessarily okay, he couldn’t really help himself either, and he as well found it was none of Tanaka’s business if he was interested in Sonia, since the guy himself had made clear to their class multiple time that he didn’t harbour any romantic feelings for the princess himself. Still, Soda wasn’t feeling up to arguing with him if there was definitely something wrong with him, so he just sighed and shrugged calmly. ‘Well, there’s no Miss Sonia here to impress, is there? I literally just want to get you back to your cottage, I don’t even know where she is’. That last part may have been a lie; he knew full well that she had joined Akane in staying in the ocean for the time being, but Tanaka didn’t need to know that; his face lit up if only a little by hearing this. ‘I… suppose that makes sense, my apologies’, he said softly, still not looking the mechanic in the eye. ‘It’s cool, don’t worry’, Soda responded swiftly, a strange feeling bubbling in his chest by the realisation that he was having a normal conversation with Gundham for once where they weren’t actually annoyed with each other, but he pushed the strange sensation away. 

Kazuichi stepped out of the stall opening and made space for the breeder to leave as well, although that seemed like a harder task than he let on before. As soon as he took a step forward he seemed a little out of balance, and Kaz was truly worried to what exactly was going on. Soda got to his aid fairly quickly, stepping next to the guy and wrapping an arm around his waist as he wrapped Tanaka’s left arm around his shoulders so he could steady himself as they walked. ‘This is humiliating’, Tanaka mumbled as he leaned on the mechanic, stepping forward carefully. Kazuichi chuckled softly. ‘Tell me about it’. 

As the two guys made their way out of the beach house, they were quickly met with the other three students that Kazuichi had been with before: Nagito, Fuyuhiko and Hajime. They had probably gotten a little worried when Kaz stayed away for too long, thinking something must have happened, and their suspicions were proven correct when they saw Tanaka with him. ‘What’s going on, are you alright?’, Hajime asked with eyes a little more wide than usual, gripping onto the arm of the ultimate lucky student next to him. Soda shook his head softly to show that nothing was wrong with himself, holding Gundham up better and shifting his weight a little so he didn’t put to much of a burden on one side. ‘I’m fine, it’s Tanaka. I’m bringing him back to his cottage, can one of you ask Tsumiki to come over?’, the mechanic asked, noticing that the breeder wasn’t exactly happy that now others knew about his condition as well, although he was happy that Kazuichi was willing to help him. ‘Yes, of course’, Hinata responded quickly, pulling onto Nagito’s arm and telling him to go look for Mikan as well, since the two students were the guys that she feared the least and therefore would probably be more comfortable listening to. Fuyuhiko offered helping Soda and Tanaka out and joining them, but knowing that the breeder wasn’t really that keen on people treating him like he couldn’t take care of things himself, Soda told the yakuza no help was needed and he’d manage. 

The walk back to Gundham’s cottage wasn’t without hindrances and was overall pretty tiring, but for the sake of himself and the breeder’s dignity the mechanic decided not too complain too much, instead trying to continue speaking to the other ultimate that seemed kind of out of it. He groaned a little as there were no palm trees to cover them in their shadows, and now the sun was pointed directly at them, having no mercy for the residents of the island. Kaz however raised a brow at the reaction, and saw the face of Tanaka being a little red as well, although it was different than Kuzuryuu’s had been. ‘Maybe you’re… what’s it called? Over heated?’, he tried, not being as good with words as the taller male was, who only grumbled dissatisfied in response. Gripping onto his coat to keep him up better so he wouldn’t slip from his arms as they walked, Kaz rolled his eyes. ‘You probably are, you’re clothed like it’s still wintertime’, he complained, eyeing the coat-sleeved arm that was draped over his shoulder. Although he almost tripped over a certain pebble that was laying on the path, Gundham still straightened up a little, using his strength to recover his own self esteem as it seemed. ‘Nonsense, I am Gundham Tanaka, the Supreme Overlord of Ice! I am not able to experience what you low mortals call  _ heat exhaustion _ ’, the guy denied the claim, although it took a little more out of him as he thought it would, when he leaned more on Soda again to help him walk. The pink haired male chuckled softly as he rolled his eyes once again at the way that the other was acting, not able to bring it up to be annoyed. Even if he was stupid for acting like he had no weakness at all, it was also a little endearing if the mechanic had to be honest, although that thought made him frown a little. 

The cottages that were on the island weren’t that special, although they basically had everything the students could need: a place to sleep and a private bathroom. The building that was nearby, on the same island, would be used to dine in and there was some sort of supermarket close as well, although the only thing that Soda had used it for so far was to get some more sugary drinks for himself, since he didn’t have a lot of money with him from home. That was no problem really, since the school had managed to get a lot for them for free, so he could still enjoy the vacation to the fullest. The two males arrived at Tanaka’s cottage, and although he could probably do it himself, Kazuichi opened the door for him instead anyway. 

Looking around the room, Soda was surprised to see that the self proclaimed overlord of ice hadn’t altered the space to fit his aesthetic more; it was fairly normal, even for someone like Tanaka. The latter sat down on his bed, watching the mechanic expectantly as the male spoke up. ‘You should probably wear something that fits the weather better, you look like you’re suffocating in that stupid coat’, the pink haired ultimate huffed softly, although a hint of actual worry was noticeable in his tone. Although Gundham at first looked pretty uncomfortable with that, he just folded his arms together defensively. ‘Those are outrageous and false assumptions, nothing more’, he snapped, his dark eyes on Kazuichi, but they really weren’t that intimidating as they were duller and in contrast to his paler than usual skin, rapid breathing and obvious inner struggling the mechanic could only pity him a bit. Soda looked through his closet with displeased grumbles coming from the breeder, and raised a brow. ‘You just have nothing to wear that’s summer proof, is that it?’. Tanaka didn’t meet his gaze, and instead opted on looking at the floor. ‘...’.  _ Got him,  _ Kazuichi thought with a proud smirk. 

Thinking of what possibilities he had, Soda rubbed his neck awkwardly when he could really only think of one thing that wouldn’t cost him money and would avoid as many awkward interactions with their other classmates as possible. He turned to Gundham, and loosened his shoulders a little not to look as awkward as he inside was feeling for some reason. ‘Uhm, so I didn’t think I’d ever say this, but since I don’t actually want ya to die from a stroke or anything, you could… borrow…  _ some of mine _ ?’, he said hesitantly, the last part coming out more like a question. If he wasn’t mistaking, the mechanic could swear he saw a small redness rise on the breeder’s face, although he averted his gaze swiftly. ‘I… well…’, the taller cleared his throat calmly, and closed his eyes for a moment as his head really was pounding the more thinking he did. ‘You do not have the same measurements as I do myself, so I do not see how your attire would fit me. And I despise your taste in gaudy coloring’, Tanaka explained, although Kazuichi knew that last part to be somewhat of a lie since the male had actually complimented him on his clothes once before, although that moment had been strange all together. ‘I have some oversized stuff, and I don’t think death from a stroke is any better than wearing some color’, the mechanic retorted, shifting his weight again as he wasn’t as sure of himself as he tried to seem. 

Gundham had nothing to defend his choice with and so the agreement came quickly that Kaz would go to his cottage and pick up some of the clothes he had thought of, and Tanaka would stay in his own room forced to drink water by the smaller male that didn’t want him to starve from dehydration on the way either. Kazuichi may not have known exactly what was going on with him, he wasn’t going to take any risks and he hoped that if Mikan came to do her nurse shit and find out what was actually wrong, the mechanic would have taken some good precautions. 

  
  


Kazuichi returned as soon as he’d rummaged through the closet in his own cottage and found a pair of loose and very light green pants that reached to under his knee but for Tanaka would probably stop right above the knee, and a big white shirt that only held the picture of some soda can on it (at home the mechanic used that for sleeping, but here he hadn’t needed it yet since it was warm enough). Tanaka was still sipping on the glass of water that Soda had forced him to take as he returned, and closed the door behind him. Making sure air conditioning was on since he could feel himself suffocating in the warm air of the room, Kaz sat down and handed the two pieces of clothing over. Gundham inspected them carefully, visibly rethinking his life choices as he saw the pink soda can with an animated face on the shirt that he was going to have to wear. ‘This is rather embarrassing’, the breeder pointed out, and Soda snorted, imagining the fit on the edgelord already. Despite his obvious protest against it, Gundham still went into his bathroom to change, leaving Kazuichi waiting in his room and inspecting the stuff that the guy had brought with him; playing with his hamsters that seemed to have a hard time in this warmth as well, mostly. 

‘Kazuichi?’, the male called his name from the bathroom, sending a shiver down the boy’s spine even if he was positive that wasn’t really possible in this warmth, hearing his given name roll from the breeder’s lips. It was a strange thought and strange sensation, so Kazuichi shook his head to rid him of the thought. ‘Yeah? What’s up?’, he called back without actually getting up, rubbing the bigger golden furred hamster over his belly, that seemed to be pretty enjoying the presence of the mechanic. ‘I do not know how this devilish contraption works, I… am in need of your aid, I’m afraid’, Tanaka answered calmly, although he seemed a little embarrassed by the fact he again needed someone’s help. Not wanting to rub it in, the mechanic immediately got up and got to the bathroom. ‘I’m not sure what you mean, but sure I’ll help’. When he opened the door, he felt heat rise to his cheeks that wasn’t the warm sun’s fault this time when he saw Gundham in his clothes, even if it was a little strange. The shirt fit him normally luckily, and the softer pants reached to his knees, although Kazuichi could see the problem pretty quickly when he saw that the skin near the waistband was getting a little more red; the strings had been too tight, and Soda knew he could make knots that were a little hard to get out of there. ‘Oh, sorry, here’, the pink haired male muttered as he pulled on the strings, skillfully ridding him of the tight setting, feeling Tanaka’s hesitant gaze on him as he held his shirt up a little to help. 

Mikan Tsumiki had immediately returned to her cottage to dress more appropriately after being pulled from spending time with Sonia in the ocean when Hajime found her and told her about the situation with Gundham and Kazuichi, finding the wellbeing of her classmates more important than spending time for herself. As she knocked on the cottage door, she could hear some soft voices coming from inside, but no one really opened up as her timid voice spoke to show her presence. However, the door wasn’t locked, so she stepped in anyway, carrying a small case to be sure if there were any injuries she could take care of them. ‘H-hello?’, she asked softly, her big eyes looking around the room and hands fumbling with the handle of what she was holding, but her eyes widened a bit as a frightened expression got on her face when she saw the two men in the bathroom from a bit of a strange angle. The two noticed her as well now and Kaz looked back over her shoulder at the blushing girl who shrieked softly. ‘I-I’m so sorry, i-is this a b-bad time?’, she stammered, stepping back. The two were confused for a moment, before Soda eyes what he was doing, and his eyes widened at the same time as he quickly got up from where he had been somewhat kneeling before, holding out his hands and shaking them frantically with his head. ‘No! uh, no, it’s not what it looks like’, he explained, clearing his throat awkwardly. Tanaka caught on quickly what the nurse must have thought, and he as well felt his face redden, as he wished now he still had his scarf to hide in from the embarrassment. 

Luckily for the two, Mikan wasn’t a difficult person when it came to convincing that what they explained happened was really true, and the strange moment was quickly forgotten as the nurse asked Gundham questions that had to do with his health. Even though he was a bit reluctant, the breeder still responded honestly, so that the girl could prosecute her ability the best she could to help him. ‘Y-you were definitely holding too much warmth’, Tsumiki explained soon enough, placing a hand on Tanaka’s forehead and eyeing Kazuichi after speaking to the ultimate she was examining. ‘You d-did the right thing by making him drink w-water and wear lighter clothes, but he should also m-mind not getting in the sun too much and keeping his cottage c-cool. Heat exhaustion i-isn’t something that should be taken lightly’, she added timidly, and Soda nodded immediately. ‘Of course, I’ll make sure the dumbass doesn’t go out during the warmest period of the day when he feels like he can defy god or whatever’, the mechanic nodded, resulting in a soft giggle from Mikan and a huff from the breeder they were talking about. The purple haired nurse again turned to Tanaka, and made sure to have a good look at him again. ‘I-if your symptoms worsen, j-just contact me directly so I can help you. Also, i-it’s best if you keep a normal salt intake, salt helps with dehydration’, Mikan told him softly, and he nodded once as he heard her. There wasn’t much else she could do for him at the moment, so she said her goodbye and told the two guys to come to her if anything else was going on, the mechanic thanking her for her help. 

‘I suppose you don’t have anything here to keep your salinity high enough?’, Kazuichi asked, looking through some of the cupboards that were in the room but finding nothing but hamster food and some candles that the dude undoubtedly bought for some strange rituals he enjoyed doing. ‘I don’t’, Tanaka responded in all honesty, looking at his lap as he sat on his bed, knowing by now that Kaz could be pretty persistent if he wanted to be so lying really had no use. ‘Alright. I’ll go get you something’, Soda said, getting up and taking his wallet, ignoring the sounds of protest behind him as he left Tanaka alone in the room and made his way to the smaller supermarket that was on the island. 

During his walk, Kazuichi allowed himself to think without pressing away the strange feelings he had felt before, now just wanting clarity for himself and what he was really thinking. The whole interaction with Gundham and what had been happening was weird for him, and maybe even a little uncomfortable, although it wasn’t the fact that he had to help the other student that got him feeling like that. If he had to be honest, he could almost be sure it was because he knew that Tanaka would keep thinking that the only reason Soda helped him was because of Sonia Nevermind and his affection toward her, but the mechanic knew this wasn’t true. Of course he liked the princess and he enjoyed her presence, and he made a whole show of it to show how much he adored her, but deep down he knew it was just a shallow liking towards her because she offered a sense of safety and secureness for him, being the ultimate princess. The reason he actually wanted to help the breeder was because of the guy himself. He had helped Kazuichi on multiple occasions, even if he maybe wouldn’t remember it; for example when the mechanic got in some sort of road accident which he blamed on Nagito Komaeda’s luck, the ultimate breeder had actually visited him in his room when the other students wouldn’t, simply to check on him. There was also the time where Tanaka’s bear (who even allows that guy to have a fucking  _ bear  _ at school) bit his hand and Teruteru’s, and although it of course kind of was his fault that this happened, he still stayed when Mikan tended to the wounds that this left. There were other occasions that didn’t involve injury where the guy had showed himself to be a decent human being as well, and at first Soda wanted to know nothing of it, but the more he let himself appreciate the person that was Gundham, the more he confused himself. Kazuichi himself had no problem with people who were gay or things like that, even if his father did, that wasn’t the problem. It was just that he never expected himself to see something in a guy, and it was a shocking revelation, definitely if that guy was Gundham Tanaka; the probably worst conversationalist and most confusing dude that Soda had ever met. Of course, he wasn’t sure if that was what was actually happening, so he mostly ignored that thought, feeling his heartbeat quicken with the thought. That was mostly the reason why he always ignored those thoughts; it was a little too confusing, and although the mechanic was used to being confused to the point most of his classmates thought he was stupid, emotions never really cared for Kazuichi’s say in the matter, so he tried to avoid the confusing ones as much as he could. 

He soon returned to Gundham’s cottage, now carrying a bag of chips that were formed like little bears that would hopefully help cheer the other up. Knocking on the door to announce his entrance, the pink haired male stepped inside of the cottage and saw that Tanaka had not yet left his spot on the bed where he sat and waited for the mechanic to return, reminding the ultimate of a dog almost and the thought made him chuckle softly. ‘Here, you like animals’, Kazuichi explained his choice of snack as he threw the bag at Gundham, who failed to catch it properly and made a small  _ oof  _ sound as it smacked against him. ‘...I am grateful for how considerate you are behaving’, Tanaka said calmly, opening the bag and taking one out, inspecting it a little reluctantly. Kaz smiled softly and flopped down next to him, deciding that since it was his money he could have some as well, and stuffed a fist of the stuff in his mouth, keeping in a laugh from the shocked face that Gundham made. After he finished the food, Kazuichi spoke up to his thanks. ‘Dude, it’s nothing. That’s what friends are for, right?’. 

Tanaka blinked at him, and once again a soft pink tint showed itself on his cheeks, although he didn’t avert his gaze this time. ‘...Friends? I was under the impression you abominated the likes of me’, he muttered carefully as he watched over Kazuichi, who felt his own embarrassment as he realised that he was maybe being overly friendly right now. ‘W-well, you think a lot of stupid shit’, he retorted with a scoff, his lips a thin line after as he didn’t exactly want to speak about it and hoped the conversation didn’t go fully wrong now. Although the breeder wasn’t really pleased with his choice of words, he didn’t exactly comment on it other than with a small glare. ‘Alright then. I would not be opposed to the idea of being your ally’, Tanaka said, holding out a hand as if to seal a bond. Kazuichi’s eyes widened, and they twinkled a little with excitement, something that the breeder couldn’t help but to find at least a little sweet. ‘Really?’, he asked, and Tanaka nodded once, still having a hand extended. 

Instead of taking his hand, Kazuichi pulled the breeder into an affectionate hug, startling him somewhat. It was the start of a great bond between the two ultimates, the sun now long forgotten but its kiss remaining as the two grew closer over the years, not parting ways after high school and eventually not parting ways in life either. 


End file.
